Love is all sorts of things. Love is strange, love is a stranger, love is a battlefield. Love will keep us together and tear us apart. Love hurts and love makes the world go round. Love is what the world needs now and what one can't help falling into even if you'll never fall into it again. 31 Candles, a nice and charming romantic comedy from an up-and-coming filmmaker shows us that love is also kosher.
Leo Kadner (writer/director/editor Jonah Feingold) may be Jewish, but he is the unofficial king of Christmas movie directors. Perhaps he has this Judeo-Christian connection because his birthday is December 26. December 26, 1993, to be exact. Why does this matter? Well, Leo is coming up on his 31st birthday and is still single. He is what he dubs a "situationship" with Molly (Djouliet Amara), but neither want marriage.
If Leo were ever to marry, it would be to Eva Shapiro (Sarah Coffey), the girl of his dreams from that certain summer of 2006. Leo and Eva were in opposite summer camps. All these years later and Leo has not forgotten Shapiro. One of the few things that Leo's long-divorced parents agree on is that he should work on stabilizing his life. Things look to turn around for Leo when Eva returns to New York City. She is pursuing an acting career, no easy feat given how at 6'1" she towers over everyone. She especially towers over Leo. Eva supplements her income by tutoring Jewish kids for their bar/bat mitzvahs.
As it so happens, Leo never had a bar mitzvah. Could this be a way to gain Shapiro's attention and affection (Leo almost always calls Eva by her last name)? His fellow Hebrew students James and Sallie (Derrick Delgado and Zoe Hoffmann) look on with puzzlement and amusement at their accelerated classmate whom they estimate to be between 41 and 52 years old.
Leo tries to play it cool with Shapiro. He ventures into the dating and Jewish world with some oddball results. His sister and brother-in-law offer at times conflicting advice. His Italian friends and Asian bodega owner also chime in on Leo's various exploits, romantic or otherwise. Fortunately, he has his wise Grammy Lila (Caroline Aaron) to offer sensible words of wisdom to her bumbling grandson. Or does he? Eva has her own curveballs to throw at him. In the end, Leo finds the greatest love of all.
Jonah Feingold wears many hats in 31 Candles. He is writer. He is director. He is editor. He is also the lead. Feingold pulls off each task effectively. Coming across as a Woody Allen's less neurotic nephew, Feingold has both clever lines and a good overall structure to the film. When getting together with Eva to discuss him having his long-delayed bar mitzvah, she tells him of a specific reading that he'll have to do. "It's from Genesis", she tells him. Looking pleased at this news, Leo replies, "Oh, I love Phil Collins".
The line itself is amusing. However, it also reveals just how removed Leo is from the religious aspect of Judaism. "I'm Jew-ish", he remarks. 31 Candles does not end up with Leo opting to become a hazzan. It does show that he is more conscious of what being Jewish is both good and bad. The only real dark moment in the film is when a date takes askance at the thought of her possibly "looking Jewish". Fortunately, Feingold has a later scene with friendly but frank Chinese bodega owner Jaya (Lori Tann Chin) and a bagel to lighten the mood.
31 Candles has amusing moments and scenes. There is when Leo's brother-in-law Greg (Jared Freid) offers this suggestion. "He's short. She's tall. Climb her like a tree". There are the deliberate bad bris jokes Rabbi Zeldin (Judy Gold) offers. "What do you call a cheap circumcision? A rip-off!", Rabbi Zeldin quips. She then adds "I do take tips" in a deliberate pun that even Henny Youngman would roll his eyes at.
31 Candles, though, also has heart behind the schtick. These come with Feingold's scenes with his beloved Grammy. Jonah Feingold and Caroline Aaron are surprisingly moving together; whether Grammy is comforting him or telling him what a yutz he is, these nice, short and simple scenes are highlights in the film. Their last scene together, which throws in a surprise, did affect me more than I thought.
Feingold also manages to get his actors, including himself, to be more than Borscht Belt level. There is still a bit of an exaggerated manner to some of the performances, including himself. However, on the whole the sincerity that is played on screen makes up for occasional stumbles. Feingold also has some surprisingly inventive moments in 31 Candles. There is a subtle switch from color to black-and-white in a fantasy moment that spoke of how Leo sees the world. Grant Fonda's score also keeps things light, adding nice Hebrew touches to our tale of love lost and potentially found.
31 Candles has a few stumbles apart from some of the perhaps slightly over-the-top acting moments. The relationship that Leo has with Eva's sister seems to not be addressed or downplayed. There is a running montage to get to temple on time that looked a bit amateurish. I think there was some kind of running gag about Leo's probable dyslexia that did not completely work (he keeps reversing numbers, leading him to believe for example that a $72 total is a remarkably inexpensive $27). One editing choice where he seems to kiss Eva but then asks to "reverse" things left me a bit confused. I was not sure if it was another fantasy moment or if it did happen.
As a side note, I have recently rewatched Moonstruck, which also has a curious case of romantic sibling rivalry. I do not know if Feingold drew inspiration from that for his film. However, his one-night stand seemed to just come and go.
Overall, though, 31 Candles is a cute little film that follows the romcom conventions well. "Just because something is cheesy doesn't mean it isn't necessary", Leo comments. He might have been talking about the Christmas movies he directs. It could easily apply to 31 Candles. It might be frothy, but it is still charming.
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